Reinforced copper and process of making the same.



W. M. PAGE. 7 I REINFORCED COPPER AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1911.

1,125,163. 1 I Patented Jan19,1915.

, UNITED snares. PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MARSHAL L PAGE, OF RIIDLEY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA.

REINFORCED COPPER AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAZNIE.

specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed June 23, 1911. Serial '1' 0. 634,882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLTAM MARSHALL PAGE, a citizen of the United States,-residing at Bidley Park, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certa'in new and useful Improvements in Reinforced Copper and Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to reinforced copper and processes of making the same; and it comprises a body'of reinforced copper,

. such as a conductor wire, having distributed through it a plurality of spaced and iso-- lated linear reinforcing bodies of relatively small diameter and in substantially parallel alinement, such reinforcing bodies consist-- ing of a strong cupriferous alloy, being weld-united to the copper of the main body and having the characteristics of preworked metal; and it also comprises a process of producing such reinforced copper wherein a strong cupriferous alloy, such as vanadium bronze, aluminum bronze, silicon bronze, phosphorus bronze, etc'., is 'converted into rods or the like, a .plurality of such rods are spaced apart in a substantially parallel arrangement in a suitable moldand at a. distance from the walls of such mold, copper is cast-around and among such, rods to unite therewith and form a compound billet, and the billet is worked down to rod or wire; and it also comprises a process mercially available metal forelectric conductors because of its high conductivity but it is a weak metal with a low elastic limit. When it is strengthened byalloying' with tin and other metals, it loses greatly in conductivity. With its low elastic limit,

when copper is used for hung and strung wires it is apt to sag and neck under temperature changes; copper once stretched-b'e- 'yond the elastic limit not regaining its original section. Hard drawing copper wire grves it more strength, but does not do away. with the low elastic limit.

In the present invention itis' an object to produce a compound body of metal which shall name a high conductivity approximati-ng that of copper with a comparatively high tensile strength and elastic limit. For this purpose a main body of copper is used 1n a substantially pure state and this main bodyis reinforced with a plurality of dis- PatentedJ an. 19,1915.

tributed relatively fine llnear threadlike bodies or elements of a stronger copper alloy, such as bronze. While the various bronzes have a. low conductivity as compared with copper, their conductivity is high as compared with that of other strong metals, such as steel. Therefore a relatively large amount of bronze reinforcement can be used without running down the conductivity unduly. Each reinforcing element should however be relatively minute in cross section, the desired amount of reinforcement being best obtained by multiplying the number of reinforcements rather than by -in' creasing their relative size. By using the alloy as, a multiplicity of threadlike bodies, not only is more'strength attained but undue stiffness isavoided. By using a strong re nforcing alloy in the form of a multiphclty of relatively fine linear threads the, flexibility of the copper is not much interfered with.- A compound or reinforced copper wire can be produced which, while relatively flexible and easily handled and not springy, is nevertheless possessed of great 1 tensile: strength. A much higher conductivity in a copper wire can be secured by using a small amount of tin or other strengthening metal indistributed bodies of alloy in threadlike reinforcing arrangement than by incorporating the same amount of tin Withthe whole body of the wire. In the present invention I secure'a compound-wire or the like having longitudinal veins, .1: yers, laminae or strata of pure copper with other layers, veins or the like'ofcopperi strengthened by alloying. The alloy, instead of, permeating the whole mass of material, thus occurs in restricted included strengthening ribs or linear bodies; linear bodies which have the .prop-. erti'esof Worked metal. In working the stronger copper alloys such. as vanadium bronze, silicon bronze,

r erh ws-elimin brew ri s;

to rod and wire, each successive working gives an increase in tensile strength and other desirable properties; 'anincrease which is not wholly done away with bysubsequent heat treatment, annealing and the like. .The good effect of working remains with the metal until it-is finally'melted up. Therefore by converting the: stronger copper alloys into relatively strong Workeddown rods andusing a plurality of these rods as cores in making an ingot of'copper,

the alloys are used in a mechanically strong form, while the'further reduction to rod and wire of the new ingot or billet so formed still further improves the strength'and mechanical qualities of the included linear res inforcements. The rods, in any number and arrangement desired, may be placed in a .mold and copper cast around and among them in such a manner as to, Weld therewith to form, acompound ingot ,or billet. This ingot may then be drawn down. lln working down, as stated, the included strong copper rods are further reduced to wire-j like or threadlike fineness and'in this reduction, their tensile strength and other valuable properties are very much improved. 1

Presuming, for example, that a strong phosphor bronze or vanadium bronze is castinto a billet of, say, 6 or 8 inches diameter, and this worked down by rolling to, say,

0.291 inch indiameter rod, the strength of the bronze will be very much heightened and the physical qualities-improved in this" working. Assuming, now, that this red is placed in a mold of, say, 6% inches in diameter and copper cast around it in such a manner as to Weld unite with it, and then the compound billet in turn is drawn down to another rod of 0.291 inch, it will be obvious that the original billet of phosphor bronze has been reduced to threadlike fineness; it has been worked down very far and its mechanical properties concomitantly im- .proved. It will be in-factabout 0.0002' I inch in diameter. 5 drawn to a fine wire, the thickness of the included bronze thread is once more re- And if this rod be now duced and its strength improved. What is true of a single core rod in" this example is true of each of the 50 or 100 rods which. may bev used as included cores in making a" alloys.

composite billet i under the present inven- 'tion. Each of. these rods will ,be-worked to a linear wire-likeor threadlike body of very strong metal. In the new rod or wire worked down from the compound billet each original rod will have been converted into a threadhke reinforcing body and while the 'thickness of each of these linear bodies is infinitesimal, there will ordinarily be a great many of them so as .to give a total sectional area of as'm'any per cent. as desired; enough,

say, to give the-new rod or wire 10, 15. or 20 per cent. of aluminum bronze, vanadium bronze, silicon bronze or phosphor bronze.

Supposing the amount be 20 per cent., then one-fifth of the mass will be bronze-but this one-fifth part of the mass wilfnot occur as a single comparatively rigid. core, but as a multiplicityof relatively flexible, relatively strong filaments. Where the amount of the reinforcing metal is heightened considv 'erably to say, 50 to 60 per cent. of the total amount, a new and interesting material is formed; a material which combines high tensile strength and high elastic limit with a comparative lateral flexibility. The nearest material with which it can be compared is possibly a.v stranded cable; As is well known, a bar ofany metal of a given cross section, say, an inch, is not as strong as the same metal converted into fine wires and these wires stranded together to make a rope of the same given cross section,-say,

again, an inch. This is true of bronze, of steeh'and of most other metals. Now in the present material, the bronze has been reduced, in most cases, to filaments very 'inuch finer than can be produced by ordinary wire drawing processes and with a concomitant heightening, in strength. For a give'nunit of cross section, any of these filaments is much stronger than .the metal of an, ordinarywire 0t the same material. A multiplicity of these filamentslin the new material instead of being stranded together mechanically, as ina wire rope, are set side by'side in a substantially parallel alinement and are spaced and united bysoft' copper.

different gas, such as nitrogen or producer gas; Steam may also be used since it is almost indiflerent to copper and cupriferous' The reinforcing rods may be of any numberor shape or'section desired. They 'may be rounds,-squares, ovals, octagons,

hexagons, etc. Whatever their shape, thesame shape will substantially reappear in the filaments oftheldrawndown material. Where stiffness is desired with a minimum amount of reinforcing metal, the original rods employed may bechannels or of ll or T section. However, round rods are suitable for most purposes. llieinforcements of stranded rope or cable may be used, and particularly Where it is desired to obtain very As stated however the bronzes are into linear flaws.

fine threads in the resultant material with a small. amount of reduction. But this is not'ordinarily advisable since stranded wireis more expensive than plain rods;-and it is furthermore diflicult to cast low-temperature copper around a stranded metal reinforcement without leaving air-filled cavities which in the resultant material will elongate Prior to placing in the mold, the .surface of the rod may be sandblasted or pickled to give it a true metallic surface. This promotes union with the copper subsequently cast in. Occasionally, for

certain electrical purposes, it is desirable to have the rods not weld united with the main body of the copper, but discrete therefrom;

-' and for purposes such as this, the surfaces of the rods may be oxidized somewhat. But ordinarily it is better to have the rods bright-surfaced and produce a weld union. The copper cast around and among the rods in the mold, for electricalpurposes, should be as pure as possible; and it should be cast in at a relatively low temperature so as to avoid melting down the bronze or' destroying the integrity of the rods. Water-cooled iron molds may be used or the mold may have thick walls of conductive material. A

o useful type of mold is made by casting a,

heavy copper ring around a steel or iron mold. In forming a compound ingot the copper cast in ordinarily should be as pure as possible and with heat conductive molds and with rods spaced away. from its walls,

a ring of pure copper may be first solidified next such walls while molten copper still occurs at the center among the rods. The rods may be clus ered or placed in the mold in any arrangement desired. For some purposes it is convenient to have a single seriesof rods inannular arrangement; but for others they may be clustered centrally.

to 7 inch billets, -is convenient. still greater reduction of the bronze reinforcements is required, it is often conveni- Arrangement in stars and other geometrical forms is not usually worth while. But however they are spaced and placed in the mold, there should always be a free space around the assemblage of rods to allow the formation of, a shell of pure copper; that is, all the rods should be placed at points removed from the inner periphery of the mold. The number and size of rods may be as desired. The smaller the rods, the finer will be the reinforcing filaments in the ultimate rods or wire with a given. amount oi reduction. For many purposes, the use of one-half inch or three-eighths inch rods in making ordinary size round" billets, say, 6

cut and advantageous to make -a primary billet in the way ust described, reduce it to rods, say, three-eighth inch rods, and use these reinforced primary rods as reinforcements for a new, orsecondaryfbillet. Such mama Where a The brasses' may also be "used but do not '5 draw and work as well as the bronzes. A good'bronze for the present purposes has 1.5 to 4 per cent..tin with 98.95 per cent. of copper, the residual .05 per cent. consisting of silicon, manganese, phosphorus, etc, acso cording to; the type of bronze used. Vanachum bronzes, which are extremely strong,- are well suited for my purposes. A small i amount of vanadium will greatly toughen Aluminum bronze is also very a5 IGOPPGI. suitable.

Supposinga 0.291 inch bronze rod used in making a' 6% primary billet, and this billet in turn reduced to 0.291 rod the original rod in the' new wire will be reduced to a di'-' I ameter ofabout .0002, which is extremely :fine. If the primary rod be employed in making a new or secondary compound 6% inch billet and this in turn drawn to 0.291

. rod, the original bronzerodwill now be re-" duced to a diameter of approximately .00000066 inch. With bronze threads so extremely fine as these in either the primary wire or in the secondary Wire, and'with a multiplicity of such fine threads clustered together in parallel arrangement, it will be obvious that a new and interesting type of material is produced.

In the accompanying illustration 1. have vshown, more or less diagrammatically, cer- 5 tainmeans and material in the present in-' vention'.

Inthisshowing Figure 1 is a vertical sectionrof a simple type' of mold containing copper and reinforcing bodies; Fig. 2 is'a 11o section of a billet'containing annularly 'arranged reinforcements y'Fig. 3- is a similar view of a wire-drawn from the material of 5;; Fig. 4 is a similar view .of a billet containing reinforcements clustered in several annular rows; Fig. 5 is a similar view of a billet having the reinforcements 'clus- .teredat the center; Fig. 6 is a similar view of a billet with the reinforcements in star arrangement; Fig. 7 is. a section ofa reinforced. secondary billet containing reinforce ments derived from a primary billet. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of a flat sheet bar' having crossed reinforcements, and Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section of the same on line. ww. v

In the'show'ng of Fig. 1 element 1 is a simple type of mold on-base-plate 2 and having top 3. Through this top passes a pouringahoppere. Inlet niayserve for-the in- The process may of 70 troduction of indifferent gas, and outlet 6 for the exit of gas. The mold is shown as containing a body 7 of cast copper and rods 8 of Worked cupriferous alloy, suchasvanadium bronze, aluminum bronze, etc.

lln the showing of Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the integral copper body is designated as before by 7, while 8 represents the reinforcements.

In Fig. 7, the integral copper. body is shown as containing reinforcing element's9, each of which in turn contains reinforcements l0. 1

While my invention is particularly-useful in making rods, wires. and the like, and particularly for conductor purposes, it is also applicable for the manufacture of sheets, tubes and other shapes. For many purposes for which copper is used in the arts, because of its non-corrodibility," such as evaporating devices and the like, it'is' desirable to have it of somewhat stronger character. The size of a vacuum pan, for example, is limited by the structural strength of copper in available sizes. A vacuum pan must Withstand atmospheric pressure and'if the pan be over a given size, copper sheets cannot be relied upon to furnish the strength unless of undue thickness and Weight. Metal sheets for such purposes must be like copper, capable of being Worked into shape under the hammer; the metal must be malleable and flowunder the tool. By reinforcing copper with bronze in the present invention sheets can be obtained which combine a high tensilestrength with a flowability like that of copper. For

this purpose instead of using only'longitudinal relnforcing elements it is better to have.

' reinforcingl elements in two directions.

' 'intwo directions. The rods may, and very" That is, instead of merely clustering longi-w tudinal rods in a mold and casting copper about them, it is better .to use rods arranged usefully for many purposes, be interlaced in a sort of open fabric.

scribed,.be woven' into a sort of looseor open I "fabric, that'is inlright-angled arrangement, :copper cast about them to form a compound billet and'then rolled down into sheets, an article will be secured which is substantially copper so. far as it's-hammering properties are concerned but neverthelesshas a greater degree ofstrength than copper alone can have. llf therein forcement s be, as is prefer able, each of relatively small diameter as re- ..gards the body of copper, on cutting the new reinforced sheet to sizes such as are desired, there will be merely spots of alloy exposed.-

. Reinforced bars or sheets such as del scribed, which may have reinforcements distributed through the bar or sheet in one or moreplanes, may of course be converted into structural elements, such as Ts, ils, chanmasses Presuming that strengthening rods of material, such as denels, cross-sectioned elements, etc. For such material of course perforated plates of' strong metal, expanded metal, or electrically Welded woven screen as well as ordinary woven screen 'material may be employed. But the product, using .such mate rials, does .not have the reinforcements spaced and isolated-from each other at all points.

In Figs. Sand 9 T have shown a sheet bar adaptedfor the described purpose. lnthis showing a flat sheet bar 7 of copper has in corporated therein strengthening rods 8 of copper allby.- As shown these strengthening rods extend in two directions and are interwoven into a sort of loose or open fabric.

Aluminum bronze is extremely suitable as reinforcing metal for producing 'a strong copper article with a high scrap value/ Aluminum bronze. in and of itself is one of the strongest of the cupriferous alloys,

working and drawing well. Whenused as the reinforcing rods under the present invention a very strong reinforced copper is produced, with a high conductive value, and with a high scrap value, On re-melting such,reinforced metal the aluminum can be readily burnt'out, leaving a-substantially pure copper. Or, the scrap reinforced metal -.may have a little additional aluminum added to it; to 'make aluminum bronze'of the correct-proportions, be cast into billets, converted into rods, and used anew..

l. The process of making reinforced metals which comprises assembling a plurality of isolated. rods of a strong, worked cupriferous alloy in substantially parallel alinement in a suitable mold and casting a body of copper into said mold around and among said rods. 2. The process of making reinforced metals which comprises assembling a plurality of isolated rods ofa strong worked bronze in substantially parallel alinement in a suitable mold and cas'tinga body of copper into said mold around and among said rods in such a manner as to produce a superficial union union with said rods.

4. The process of making reinforced metals which comprises assembling a plurality of isolated rods of a strong-worked cupriferous alloy in substantially parallel alinen ient. in a suitable mold and casting copper into said mold around and among said rods in.

such a manner as to produce a superficial 1 union with said rods and working down the composite billet so formed strong cuprif'erous alloy having the which comprises assembling a plurality of isolated rods of a strong worked cupriferous alloy in substantially parallel alinement in a a cupriferous.

suitable mold and castin metal into said mold aroun and among said, rods in such a manner as to produce a superficial union with said rods and working down the composite billet so formed.

7 The process of making reinforced metals which comprises assembling a plurality o isolated rodsof a strong worked cuprifervous alloy in substantially parallel alinement ina suitable mold and casting a cupriferous metal into said mold around. and among said rods in such a manner as to produce a super- .ing 'corporated isolated substantially I parallel ficial union with said rods, working down the composite billet a mold in spaced arrangement, and casting copperinto said' mold to produce a secondary billet.

8. Theprocess of making which com' rises assembling a plurality isolated ro s of a strong worked cupr1fer- 'ous alloy in substantially parallel alinement 9. A reinforcedvco per article comprising lurality of isolate ear elements. of

roperties of worked metal distributed tli and weld-united to said body.

a bodyof copper an a substantially parallel "ing a body of copper and a plurality o lated substantially parallel linear elements of a bronze having to said body.

being so formed to produce rodlike bodies, placing said rodlike bodies in reinforced metals of .corporated isolated sub'st roughsubstantially para 10. A reinforced copper article comprisj the .properties of worked metal distributed through and weld-united I ing a body of copper and a plurality of isolated substantial y parallel linear threadlik'e, elements of a strong cupriferous alloy having the properties of worked metal, distributed through and weld-united to said body,

each of said elements being of relatively minute diameter as compared with the diameter of saidbody of copper.

12. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of iso-- lated substantially parallel linearthreadlike I elements of bronze having the properties of worked metal distributed through and weldunited to said body, each of said elements of relatively minute diameter as compared with the diameter of said body of copper. y

13. A reinforced elongated copper article comprising a shell of copper and an interior composed of a plurality of isolated substans tially parallel linear bodies of-alloyed cop:

per spaced and united by pure copper, said alloyed copper having the properties of wor edmetal.

14. A reinforced copper article comprisa body of copper and atplurality of in- .worke metal and comprising a plurality of linear, threadlike bodies of strong cupriferous alloy spaced and unitedby copper weldunited thereto. 15. A- reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and plurality of inptially parallel linear reinforcing elements the main body of copper, each of said .r'ein-' forcin elements having the properties of worke metal and-com rising a plurality ofweld-united tov isolated linear, thread ike bodies ofbronze aced and, united by copper weld-united t eret' "16. n p body of substantially spacing and unitin integral metal article having a pure copper inclosing, a plurality .ofisolated 'el elongatedbodies of alloyed copper. I,

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature 10! in, the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARSHALL PAGE,

Witnesses:

K. P. MoEnnoY, Emm R. :Qmmmns, Jr. 

